Press Release

SEPTEMBER'S £1 MILLION JACKPOT WINNING NUMBERS

One million other tax-free* prizes worth over £81m also awarded

Number 1 A woman living in West Midlands Bond number: 6ZV147318 Bought in April 2004 Bond Value: £5,000 Total holdings: £30,000

Number 2 A woman living in Essex Bond number: 59BH820884 Bought in February 2001 Bond Value: £1,000 Total holdings: £30,000

 

1 September 2006

Celebrating Premium Bond holders

The winner from the West Midlands, who is keeping her identity a closely-guarded secret, exclaimed: "I've had Premium Bonds almost since they were first introduced and I always dreamed I'd be one of the big winners. I'm retired so I want to share the winnings with my family, the grandchildren will have a treat!"

The winner from Essex, has also chosen to remain anonymous.  The winners were told in person by NS&I's Agent Millions - M1 and M2 - the mystery people who pay a personal visit to the jackpot winners to give them the good news.

Regional facts

In the West Midlands, more than 795,000 people own Premium Bonds worth almost £833 million.  There are 15,300 unclaimed prizes in the area, worth over £898,000.  This is the fourth time a jackpot winner has emerged in the West Midlands. 

This is Essex's fifth £1 million Premium Bond jackpot winner since the top prize was introduced in 1994. In Essex, almost 800,000 people own Premium Bonds worth over £1.2 billion.  There are 11,800 unclaimed prizes in the county, worth over £690,000. 

In September's draw ERNIE gave away over one million prizes worth more than £83 million.

Number and value of prizes awarded in September 2006

£1 million - 2         
£100,000 - 8
£50,000 - 15
£25,000 - 30
£10,000 - 76
£5,000 - 154
£1,000 - 1,998
£500 - 5,994
£100 - 135,444
£50 - 1,178,077

Prize value                 
£ 83,273,250
           
Number of prizes
1,321,798

Premium Bond Facts

The Premium Bond prize fund rate is 3.15% tax-free*, equivalent to 5.25% for a higher rate taxpayer and 3.93% for a basic rate taxpayer.  The odds of winning are 24,000 to 1 and, with average luck, an investor with £30,000 in Premium Bonds can expect to win 15 tax-free* prizes a year - more than one a month.

23 million people have more than £32 billion invested in Premium Bonds.

Premium Bonds can be bought online at www.nsandi.com, by telephone on 0500 007 007, by post and over the counter at Post Office® branches. Customers can pick up leaflets at over 700 Tesco stores.

Like all NS&I products, Premium Bonds offer investors 100% security, backed by HM Treasury, as well as the sense of fun that comes from winning tax-free* prizes.

Since the first Premium Bonds prize draw in 1957, over 141 million tax-free* prizes worth almost £9 billion have been given away.  Prizes range from £50 to £1 million.

There is currently £30 million in unclaimed prizes.  There is no time limit on claiming prizes.  Premium Bond investors can check to see if they have won by logging on to www.nsandi.com and using the Premium Bond prize checker.